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Nicolas Bernier

frequencies (a / fragments)

frequencies is an ongoing process focusing on basic sound generation systems. For this edition, frequencies (a / fragments) the system consists of a series of custom made devices in which computer-controlled solenoids activate a variety of tuning forks. The resulting sound fragments, when articulated in conjunction with synthetic sine waves, create frictions between the acoustic and electronic elements.

The tuning fork, producing a sound closest to a pure sinewave, provides a historical linkage between science (beginning as a 19th Century precision tool), tonal instrumental works, and electronic music in all of its permutations.

In the midst of this eclecticism, his artistic concerns remain constant: the balance between the cerebral and the sensual, and between organic sound sources and digital processing.

The sound of Nicolas Bernier is somewhere between the old and the new. It is electronic music made from objects of the past: typewriter, old machines, tuning forks, soundscape memories and, yes, musical instruments. It is made with a modern apparatus but feels like completely handmade. It is gently articulated textures alongside enormous masses.

His works have been of interest for Prix Ars Electronica (Austria), SONAR (Spain), Mutek (Canada), DotMov Festival (Japan) and Transmediale (Germany) and have been published on labels like Crónica (Portugal), Ahornfelder (Germany), leerraum (Switzerland) and Home Normal (UK).

He his currently undertaking a PhD in sonic arts at the University of Huddersfield (UK) under the direction of Dr. Pierre Alexandre Tremblay and Dr. Monty Adkins. He his a member of Perte de Signal a media arts research and development centre based in Montreal.

REVIEWS OFfrequencies (a / fragments)

The humble tuning fork is inspiring to Bernier as its sinetone-like sound is redolent of early experimental electronics as well as standing as a symbol of research by dint of its long-time use not only in tonal instrumental music but also scientific inquiry, engendering a process linking electronic and acoustic, past and present, music and science. Sonically, the piece evolves from pure fork chime tones to dense complex synthesis of their captured resonance and computerized processing of source matter. Initially each sound is allowed to resound crystal clear into space, the in-between apparent, then beginning to overlap, fragments melding with the incorporation of sine waves. Digital manipulation is sparing here, limited to looping and echoing. As processing and machinery accelerate, rapid fire tones create a massive musical box effect. Low-end entries offset the sharp metallic ringing sounds that have so far set the tone. The overall effect is quite mesmerizing, as it slowly unfolds, with skittering tonal waves evaporating into the murky ether. The physicality of the fork frequencies is offset by sinewave smoothness, high-pitched, sometimes squeaky, sometimes fluttering and clicky, the interplay between them compelling—but, caveat auditor, the extreme pitches are fit to frighten the horses. About half-way the structure is irrupted by shards of high-end incidence and ultrasonic eardrum buzz, though even at this stage the churning mass of noise bears remote traces of tuning fork strike. As it progresses, the tones fracture, sparser and distended, warm enveloping tonalities cede to more granular vaporous ambience as closure comes in a return to more stripped down, albeit digitally doused, source, ending in a hush of liminal noise.

All in all, frequencies (a / fragments) is a dynamic work in a modern mien with a handmade feel, deploying small articulations next to hyper-timbral masses. It comes on like a prickly primordial musique concrète with a calm-down from contemporary electronics—the uncouth lurch of harsh noise and improv tempered by the cultured movement of minimalism and techno. Bernier navigates a cline between the actual and the virtual, between the micro and the macro, confluences forming and dichotomies dissolving—between ancient and modern, natural and synthetic, improvised and composed, essentialism and artifice, the raw and the cooked.(igloomag.com)

Canadian Bernier devised a system of assorted tuning forks put in action by a concatenation of solenoids instructed by a computer. Their untarnished rebounds were paired to a range of sine waves and varyingly elaborated in 33 precious minutes whose decontaminating attributes appeared unequivocable from the outset.

The initial part exploits the chiming traits of the sources, jingling pings and diminutive bell tones punctuating a surface of neighboring periodicities inducing an exemplary palpitation of clashing partials. The fluidity is then briefly altered through relatively tactile pops and rhythmic glitches, in turn supplanted by frequencies so sharp that the birds outside my window began chirping louder (this happens every time I nourish them with this kind of food). When the subsonic matter becomes sturdier, the physical area of self-perception is entered: in the suppositional triangle formed by a standing listener and two speakers, the effect of the bottom ripples pervades the chest (besides setting the auricular membranes in undulation mode) while the brain is wholly delivered from any eventual residue of weariness. This section subsequently turns into a rather constant diffusion enhanced by the luminance of the basic materials; we loved staying there in a state of semi-alertness, absorbing the restorative properties of acoustic innocence.

As one navigates the last portion, a minor increment of tension is noticed: interferences and little noises change state almost visibly as the tiniest subcomponents disappear, replaced by isolated incisive pitches shielded with impressive hums. The finale of this veritable composition sounds like a one-note piano amidst electronic words of farewell: the horizon comprises indefinite figures and hints to unborn melodies before everything dematerializes in the wind. An impeccable record, defined by disparate kinds of intrinsic motility fortifying its natural constitution. The first who utters the word “ambient” gets punched on the nose.(touchingextremes.wordpress.com)

Sound granulation tends to be evaluated mainly in terms of time. That aspect of the grain is essential, but the frequency dimension is equally important and a granular perspective of it, radically expands the way microsound is conceived. Nicolas Bernier’s frequencies (a / fragments) magnificently showcases that, making the spectrum to be dissected and reflected from its purity in order to setup a tonal network that is controlled in the relationship of digital and mechanical compositional/performing methods. It triggers a deep state of consciousness and an introspective experience traced between tension, calm and suspension, building its way as a mediation on the notion of frequency, an admirable and intelligent way of expressing the beauty that’s found in lines of sound listening. Fragile but endless geometry placed inside acoustic, cosmic, mental, solid, or ethereal spaces that actually are only one: the sonic.(infinitegrain.com)

Over the last decade Nicolas Bernier has consistently exhibited his sound-artist credentials in a number of different fields. Regardless of the medium of experimentation – installations, concrete music elaborations, live electronics, post-rock, noise or free improvisation, video-art, dance or theatre – Bernier always executes the performance aspects of his works carefully. The Canadian composer often finds inspiration in old equipment (antique instruments, typewriters), which is reworked into complicated setups and recontextualised. This latest release for LINE was mastered by Taylor Deupree at 12K and the final result is excellent. The sounds are sharp and are divided into highly refined and delicate sequences that have been arranged meticulously, with dilated assonances forming a pleasant continuum. The system here consisted of a series of purpose-built mechanical devices controlled by computers, working in tandem with a group of solenoids activating a row of turning forks. The resulting sound fragments were combined with synthetic sine waves and everything has been done to balance the acoustic and electronic elements in the work – expressing the proper tension between the constituents of the whole. The author’s vision extends to 19th century science but also includes the tradition of tonal instrumental works, a staple of electronic music in all its permutations. It was by no accident that this work was awarded a Golden Nica in the Digital Music and Sound Art section of the 2013 edition of Ars Electronica.(neural.it)

… a beautiful sense of tension… Crossing the border between non-electronic and electronic music, magnetic fields, vibration & environmental sound… In 2014, this is the forefront of post-digital music exactly. The album is a must-listen.(eke-king.net)

Frequencies is a piece is concerned with tone generation. It combines both ancient tonal generators, tuning forks, with the contemporary technology of computer controlled solenoids to activate the tuning forks. The resultant devices made by Bernier have been manipulated to create sound elements which combined with synthetic sine waves comprises the instrumentation of this work. The interplay between the ancient/modern, synthetic/natural are dichotomies that could be thought about a bit in conjunction with this work. Also much could be made of notions of pure tone and essentialism within tone generation.

Other approaches might consider the novel experimental music machine building as a form of artistic merit, the stark minimal soundscape and wide sonic dynamics of the piece or even consider it as an exemplar of sound art. All of these approaches bear fruit. It is a short but densely packed 33.43 minutes of tonal generation and digital processing that go straight to the synapses. You could consider it as consider it as a form of cerebral enhancement: Tonträger für synapsenmassage. But that may be going too far. Be prepared for a dramatic sonic experience and listen with a sound system capable of a wide dynamic range to achieve best results. Whichever way you conceive of the work it remains a highly interesting piece of digital culture.(cyclicdefrost.com)

Utilizing the sound of tuning forks, a method of generating tones that goes back far into history, Nicolas Bernier places them in a motorized, computer controlled installation that belies the simplicity of its core. The single piece moves quickly, evolving from the simple resonating tones to a dense, complex synthesis of the naturally captured resonance and the computerized processing of the pure source material.

This approach to creating music is not a new one for Bernier, who has utilized numerous forms of archaic and unconventional sound generation tools (typewriters, malfunctioning machinery, etc.) but paired with modern technologies to create a hybrid of the old and new. The result sounds like neither time period specifically, but instead exists in some ambiguous area between the two. At the same time he juxtaposes composition and improvisation as well, with some moments of this long piece sounding rigidly structured by the machinery he created, and others feeling like knob twiddling at its finest.

The introductory moments of the piece stick mostly to the natural sound of tuning forks: each crystal clear chime is allowed to reverberate and resonate into silence, the space between the tones carrying just as much importance. The various tuned forks begin to overlap with one another, the fragmented sounds meld together, and with the added sine waves the complexity becomes astounding.

The digital manipulation is rather subtle at this point, mostly limited to looping and echoing pieces of the sound to extend it. As the processing and the machinery both speed up, the quick tones hitting in rapid succession it begins to resemble a large, digitally manipulated music box. Things begin to change once some extremely low end passages come in and offset the sharp metallic ringing sounds that have defined the composition up to this point.

At this point, about half way through, the organization of the piece seems to come apart, with shards of high end harshness cutting through and the ultra-sonic microtones make for what I assume is a perfect simulation of tinnitus. Everything here becomes a churning mass of noise that still resembles the standard sound of a tuning fork being struck at times, but only vaguely. The closing moments go back to a more stripped down approach, but now heavily bathed in the digital processing from before, ending in a realm of hushed, inorganic textures and near silent bits of noise.

I often find this type of academic sound art challenging to listen to too frequently, but that was not the case with Fragments. I was engaged throughout my first listen, and I gave it a second spin a relatively short time later. Bernier does such an impressive job at mixing the natural and the synthetic, and at times the work hints at the loose improvisation of harsh noise and the clinical precision of the minimalist of techno music without ever fully sounding like either one. That ambiguity, and the album’s fast pacing, make for an excellent work.(brainwashed.com)

Nicolas Bernier’s work has been unfolding and evolving over the last few years, garnering much respect and attention, particularly within the field of sound installation, where his work oscillates between the elegant restraints of the Zimoun/Pe Lang form of minimalist intervention, and a kind of steampunk aesthetic, bringing unlikely home made, and archaic sound objects into a fresh arena, and giving them new life and indeed new relevance. The aptly titled Frequencies works which manifested in recorded form on the UK’s wonderful Entr’acte late last year, now find their spiritual home on LINE, and these recordings fit the brief of this fine label to the letter.

Essentially, this is a 33 minute work that documents the sonic element of an installation piece that has enjoyed international exposure at various high profile arts festivals. The piece involves rows of precisely calibrated tuning forks, triggered via software such as Ableton, threaded through washes of sinewave activity.

The overall effect of the sonic elements of this work are quite mesmerising, as this evenly paced piece slowly unfolds, with skittering tonal waves evaporating into the murky ether. Bernier’s work explores that nebulous interface that arcs between the actual and the virtual, between the micro and the macro, creating sonic events that are at once ethereal and utterly engaging. His work invokes the spirit of Oren Ambarchi, and the precisely structured, liminal interventions of the magnificent John Wall. As the piece evolves, the tones fracture, become more spare and disarticulated, warm, enveloping tonalities give way to more granular, vaporous, ambience as the piece draws to a close.

With only a clutch of digital releases to his name, Bernier has now perhaps assured his place within the spectrum of new sound artists whose work is equally at home on CD, as it is in audio/visual format, and this brief, but highly elegant recording will surely place him at the forefront of the genre. Highly recommended.(WHITE_LINE reviews)

Get ready to stroke your beard, there’s a new CD from Line in the office! This one’s from Nicolas Bernier and contains a combination of sine wave drones and “a series of custom made devices in which computer-controlled solenoids activate a variety of tuning forks”, it’s a detailed exercise in high pitched, glassy drones in which the physical ringing of the tuning forks is played off against the electronic smoothness of the sine drones.

In places the tones are quite high pitched, but in others they’re incredibly high. Really head-piercingly squeaky. And there’s some weird fluttering clicks too. I’m quite surprised with how distinct the tuning forks sound from the sine wave considering that you’d think the two would sound practically identical, and the quavering interplay between the two is interesting, but those extremely high drones are not for the faint of heart and give it a cold, panicky feel. Difficult but interesting tonal music for those who like things a bit cerebral.(normanrecords.com)

There are some people who see “composed” and “improvised” as a dichotomy in music; a piece that is one thing cannot be the other. Nicolas Bernier provides an excellent example of the grey area between them with this one-track, half-hour-long disc. There is obvious structure here, but there’s a lot of room for improvisation, twisting the instrumentation, adding or subtracting a rhythm here or there, etc. Genrewise I’m not exactly sure where you’d stash this, keeping with the grey-area theme; there’s electroacoustic, ambient, perhaps a bit of electronica running deep in here. Clear, bright bell tones (tuning forks?) and sound wash over a rhythm so serene and yet so fractured that it could easily be the feet of people walking around in a space (as per Damion Romero’s “/livingroom” but with less audio fuckery involved) rather than an actual rhythm. And yet despite all this there is no point where you can listen to a fragment of this and not feel the hand of a composer; it is intriguing indeed.(Popcorn for Breakfast)

Those strange objects on the cover artwork are not an artistic installation of spigots for an imaginary starship, even though they look like spigots, but those mysterious things spill frequencies. It’s a sound generating system where a series of tuning forks got activated by computer-controlled solenoids that inventive Canadian sound-artist Nicolas Bernier built for a performance of sounds and lights which was awarded the 2013 Ars Electronica Golden Nica for Digital Music and Sound Art. The entrancing audible part of this installation, which could be considered as a bridge between science and electronic music as well as between primeordial stage of musique concrete and contemporary electronics, is the sonic pasture for this release. The initial likeness with faucets is not apocryphal as you’ll have the impression that Bernier let drip frequencies on the first minutes of this 34-minutes lasting recording before the rivulets of pure musical tones which come from those two-pronged U-shaped forks sprinkle and drown the entire sonic sphere by a series of variations, dilutions and swelling, which gradually drives filaments of icy electron beams towards the lukewarm thermal state of a genuinely embryonic melody.(chaindlk.com)